The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, says the reforms at the central bank are aimed at stabilising the Nigerian economy, restoring confidence and bringing inflation down to single digits in the medium term.
Speaking during the fireside chat at his inaugural lecture series of the Lagos Business School (LBS) with the theme “Next Generation Leadership in Monetary Policy and Nation Building”, Cardoso said that the challenges of stabilising the Nigerian economy and how hard work and credibility had helped the CBN to redirect the economy on a positive growth path.
He explained that the ongoing reforms and achievements in the last two years were geared toward stabilising the economy and restoring investor confidence.
“The idea is to ensure that in the medium term we achieve single-digit inflation,” he said.
He said interest rates and the foreign exchange market were areas of concern for everyone, adding that, at one point in time, the foreign exchange market had multiple challenges.
He explained the crisis of access to foreign exchange when he assumed office two years ago and efforts through necessary and stringent reforms that restored sanity, transparency and credibility.
According to him, credibility is at the heart of any central bank to win people’s trust and investor confidence and that some benefits of the reforms, included the ability of citizens to use Naira debit cards abroad.
Cardoso also said that he was able to clear the verifiable foreign exchange backlog estimated at over $7 billion and that the feat was a daunting task which credibility, transparency and resilience helped him to achieve.
He said promises must be kept for people to keep trusting the Nigerian economy, adding that people invest where there is integrity, credibility and trust, and that transparency and credibility restored sanity and attracted foreign investors.
Cardoso disclosed that the CBN began publishing financial statements, a practice that had been suspended for several years.
“For years, the financial statements of the central bank had not been published. We have gone ahead to publish it. It’s on our website,” he said.
He also explained how CBN used technology to eliminate sharp practices, citing the adoption of a new electronic matching system, which made market activities open and transparent.
GIK/APA